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How to Record Birdsong

Practical tips for recording bird song and calls – timing, microphones, parabolic reflectors, settings, ethics and how to share your recordings.

By the OttoAnna editors · Updated 2026-10-01 · 2 min read

Birds are the most rewarding subject for a beginning recordist: they are everywhere, they are loud for their size and their songs are endlessly varied. Here is how to capture them well.

When and where

  • Season. Song peaks in spring and early summer, when males defend territories. Calls can be recorded all year.
  • Time of day. The dawn chorus – from about an hour before sunrise – is the richest and the quietest time for traffic and wind. A second, smaller peak comes at dusk.
  • Weather. Calm, dry mornings are best. Wind ruins recordings and rain silences many species.
  • Place. Woodland edges, wetlands and quiet parks are productive. Move away from roads; even distant traffic adds a low rumble.

Equipment

Any recorder will do to start. What matters most for single birds is getting closer acoustically:

  • Shotgun microphones (such as the Sennheiser MKH 416 or ME66) are directional and reduce surrounding noise.
  • Parabolic reflectors focus sound from one direction and can add 10–20 dB of gain at higher frequencies – the classic tool of bird recordists. Hear examples on the parabolic reflector page.
  • Omnidirectional stereo pairs are better for the whole chorus or a habitat ambience.
  • A windshield is essential for all of them.

Settings

Record WAV at 48 kHz (or 96 kHz if you want to slow down very high songs), 24-bit, with low-cut filters off unless wind demands them. Keep levels conservative: a bird starting to sing a metre away can be 30 dB louder than the background.

Technique

  1. Locate by ear, then approach slowly and stop well before the bird changes behaviour.
  2. Stay still once recording – handling noise and footsteps travel straight into the microphone.
  3. Record whole sequences, including pauses: many species alternate song types.
  4. Announce the species, place and time at the end of the recording rather than the start, so you do not disturb the bird.
  5. Check with a spectrogram at home; it reveals details you missed by ear. Try our spectrogram tool.

Ethics

Bird welfare comes first. Avoid disturbing nests, never use repeated playback of song to attract birds during the breeding season (it is illegal for protected species in many countries), stay on paths and respect local rules in reserves.

Share your recordings

Shared recordings are valuable for science and identification. Communities such as xeno-canto collect bird sounds from all over the world, and several are included – with the recordists' credit and license – on OttoAnna's bird pages.

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